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Ted Nugent Off His Rocker, Healthcare Reform and the Ongoing Debate

Music and politics are often intertwined. While many musicians are liberal minded, there are a few, like Ted Nugent, who are conservatively minded. Nugent happens to fall further on the right than even the typical right winger. By reading the following passages like from an interview with Spinner, you know just how far to the right:

“With a liberal in the White House, it’s sad to see the celebration of mediocrity and slovenliness and the cult of denial expand,” he says. “That’s heartbreaking to see this once-great nation abandon the drive of excellence and the new squawking mantra of whining and excuse-making, which is why we have the president we have, and for him and his administration to defy the Constitution and Fedzilla exploding into the private sector and controlling corporations, it’s shocking.”

Still, Nugent holds out hope for the country. “I believe that we the people will eventually see the criminality of the Obama administration and eventually stop them one way or another, so I have eternal faith in my fellow man,” he says. “I can’t believe this experiment in self-government is over. I can’t believe the documents our founding fathers clearly articulated and wrote are going to be abandoned for tyranny and slavery, and that’s really what Obama represents. He represents that ‘you people are so stupid and inept, I’ll have to cover you.’ I just don’t believe that’s true.”

But what really bothered me was the following segment:

anybody who claims they can’t make ends meet is a liar! Anybody that owes money on their credit card is a pig. If you smoke or drink or have blubber, you get no healthcare until you show me you care about your health.

Somehow it is always the gents with an overwhelming amount of cash flow that continue to criticize Obama and believe democracy is at an end. I mean, how many of us can actually live like Good Ole Uncle Ted, in the woods, playing with guns, bows and arrows, hunting all kinds of wildlife, playing guitar, and simply living the good life day in and out? It must be nice to play savage hunter regularly. If only we could play with a bow and arrow rather than make a real living. Not everyone is as fortunate as Mr. “Cat Scratch Fever.”

I guess that means if you lost your job and were forced to use a credit card to feed your family you belong in farm with your mates – “pigs.” What. An. Idiot.

I was going to let this go, but this article has stuck with me over the past week, and I haven’t been able to let things rest. I have a hard time believing that people who are overweight or drink shouldn’t have access. Last I checked, not everyone who drinks is considered an alcoholic. I certainly have a bottle of brew now and then, but does that mean I need to pay a daily visit to alcoholics anonymous? No.

I am certainly not at the weight I should be, and there are several reasons why. Yes, food is part of the problem, and not enough exercise is another, but I will NEVER be at the typical weight of someone my height. So to imply that someone like myself shouldn’t have the right to treat horrible allergies I suffer from, which often prevents me from taking a long stroll or run in the park, or checkups for Cancer, Diabetes, Parkinson’s, which are all part of my family history, is just flat out wrong. Nugent should stick to playing with bows and arrows and twanging his guitar.

Now, I will be the first to admit, that I am worried by the healthcare reform taking place in Congress. Like any change, it will require an adjustment. I have decent coverage, and my wife is covered with my medical insurance. However, I have been covered by poor, overpriced medical insurance in the past. It hurt the family wallet. My wife knows all too well what can happen when not receiving the right treatment from the right doctor. And that has cost us. A LOT! (Thanks crappy HMO from Blue Cross Blue Shield and crappy doctors that forced my wife to receive treatment for an injury for years instead of months all because the right doctor was out of network.)

At any rate, I am doing my best to read educate myself about what is taking place in Washington. I may not fully understand the implications, but there appears to be an ongoing consensus that something needs to be done. So the following are a list of articles about the healthcare debate I have found interesting:

Finally, I leave you with a final thought by Bill Maher. Although I don’t always agree with everything Maher says or suggests, I often find the discussions he hosts on his show interesting. I also find his New Rules funny, but his final New Rule on this week’s show (7/24) has me thinking. Now, I am not saying Maher is right or wrong, I will allow you to decide for yourself and post a reply. So here it is:

How about this for a New Rule: Not everything in America has to make a profit. It used to be that there were some services and institutions so vital to our nation that they were exempt from market pressures. Some things we just didn’t do for money. The United States always defined capitalism, but it didn’t used to define us. But now it’s becoming all that we are.